ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Speaker, Ayaz Sadiq, has accepted the resignation of Balochistan National Party (BNP-M) chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal, sources told Geo News on Wednesday.
His resignation, the sources added, was accepted Tuesday night after months-long delay and will take effect from the date it was given. The politician, during this time, had been enjoying the perks of an MNA and having the possession of a flat in the Parliament Lodges.
Mengal, who was elected as a member of the lower house from Khuzdar’s NA-256 in the February 2024 elections, had tendered his resignation on September 3, 2024, citing the worsening situation in the province.
The BNP-M chief had announced his resignation during an NA session back then, where he also expressed regret that he could not do anything for the people of the province, and decried on not being given the right to rule and expressed a lack of trust in the whole system.
His resignation in September had come after the province was marred by a series of horrific attacks in August that resulted in over 50 deaths, including 14 security personnel, as militants affiliated with the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) targeted civilians, police and security forces.
Meanwhile, the Tehreek Tahaffuz Aiyeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP) Wednesday raised questions over the ‘sudden’ acceptance of resignation of Balochistan National Party Chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal as MNA and said this move doesn’t seem to be in line with the parliamentary transparency.
The opposition alliance’s spokesman, Akhunzada Hussain said the long-delayed approval of the resignation of Akhtar Mengal was raising serious constitutional and democratic questions.
He pointed out Mengal had submitted his resignation from the NA-256 on September 3, 2024, but it was kept pending for about a year and five months and was finally accepted on February 11, 2026.
“Keeping the membership of an elected public representative in a suspended state in this manner does not augur well for the democratic process and the stability of the House. The recent decisions of disqualifications and punishments against opposition members have further strained the political atmosphere,” he noted.
He contended that the actions taken against Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Omar Ayub Khan, Opposition Leader in the Senate Shibli Faraz, Parliamentary Leader in NA Zartaj Gul Wazir, Sahibzada Hamid Raza and other elected representatives are a cause of concern regarding parliamentary supremacy and democratic diversity.
Political differences, he emphasized, should be resolved within the constitutional and democratic framework, and not be turned into institutional tensions.
